Case Number 18478

IN PLAIN SIGHT: SEASON TWO

The Charge

"Since 1970, the Federal Witness Protection Program has relocated
thousands of witnesses, some criminal, some not, to neighborhoods all across the
country. Every one of those individuals shares a unique attribute distinguishing
them from the rest of the general population, and that is...Somebody wants them
dead."

Opening Statement

As the first season of In Plain Sight drew to a close, WITSEC Marshall
Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack, The West Wing) found herself abducted by
drug dealers associated with her ne'er do well sister Brandi (Nichole Hiltz).
Once she escaped from that physical danger, Mary had to endure an emotional
gauntlet by confronting both Brandi and her mother Jinx (Lesley Ann Warren,
Victor/Victoria). The second season does a superb job of following up on
the physical, emotional, and legal repercussions of Mary's ordeal. While the
season stumbles at the finish line, the evidence shows that Universal has done
us a great service in releasing In Plain Sight: Season Two from
protective custody.

Facts of the Case

In the aftermath of her abduction, Mary struggles to recover some semblance
of balance in her life. That proves easier said than done, given that her mother
Jinx has just been arrested for DUI, her younger sister Brandi is trying to
leave her past behind, and Mary's boyfriend Raph (Cristián de la Fuente,
CSI: Miami) wants to make their relationship more permanent. As if that
weren't bad enough, Mary is also confronted with a new nemesis in the form of
new office manager Eleanor Prince (Holly Maples), who simply refuses to take any
of Mary's crap. Alongside her partner, Marshall Mann (Fred Weller) and her boss,
Stan McQueen (Paul Ben-Victor, Daredevil), Mary charges straight ahead,
protecting her WITSEC charges as though she were protecting her own family.

Midway through the season, events occur that may eventually lead Mary to her
father, a bank robber who abandoned the family shortly after Brandi was born.
Then Raph's mother shows up with a goat to marinate, and things just get weird.
(It all makes sense. Trust me.)

* "In My Humboldt Opinion": A pot-growing witness has severe
social anxiety -- so severe that he cannot testify unless he is high. Jinx gets
arrested for DUI.

* "A Stand-Up Triple": A cougar witness (Cynthia Watros,
Lost) continually leaves her kids home alone while she hits the town.
Mary tries to look out for the kids' welfare while trying to keep Jinx out of
jail.

* "Rubble with a Cause": When a huge building collapses on a
witness, Mary rushes in to protect him from an assassin and a prying reporter.
Embarrassed for impersonating Jinx at an AA meeting, Brandi tries to apologize
to the guy running the meetings (Josh Malina, Sports Night).

* "Aguna Matatala": An Orthodox Jewish witness finds himself being
stalked by a mysterious man (Richard Schiff, The Lost World: Jurassic Park
2).

* "One Night Stan": When Stan's first witness turns up dead with
Stan's badge amongst the bones, Mary and Marshall dig into a twenty-year-old
case.

* "Duplicate Bridge": A tragic bridge accident forces the bridge's
designer into hiding, but Marshall and Mary must prevent him from trying to
reach out to the victims' family and clear his name.

* "A Frond in Need": Mary places an ex-con informant in a job in a
flower shop. When the store owner turns up dead, Mary and Marshall must find out
if their charge is behind the murder.

* "Let's Get It Ahn": The fingerprints of a counterfeiter
(Sherilyn Fenn, Twin Peaks) in the program are found at the scene of a
murder, forcing Mary and Marshall to discover the actual murderer before someone
else is killed.

* "Once a Ponzi Time": A Wall Street investor gives away his
earnings after revealing his boss' elaborate Ponzi scheme, but when he suddenly
asks for the money back, Mary and Marshall become suspicious about his
motives.

* "Don't Cry for Me, Albuquerque": Mary is forced to watch over a
Latin American political activist whose plans may put everyone in danger.

The Evidence

The first season of In Plain Sight finished with two of the most
harrowing shows I've ever seen. Historically, finales such as these are as much
a curse as a blessing, because the show often fails to follow up in the next
season. Thankfully, In Plain Sight: Season Two refuses to shy away from
the emotional mushroom clouds of the prior season; the events of those two
episodes resonate throughout the entire season. Not only is Mary profoundly
changed, but both Brandi and Jinx get caught up in the shock wave. While the
Shannons struggle with their various demons, FBI Special Agent Robert O'Connor
(Will McCormack, Syriana, also Mary McCormack's brother) continues
investigating, leading to a high-stakes showdown in "Who's Bugging
Mary?" This sort of narrative and emotional depth is all too rare in
today's television, even in the better series. Mary McCormack in particular
shines as Mary struggles with her PTSD.

The episodes vary between mysteries and character pieces. While the
mysteries are engaging, it's the characters that make the show work, and the
show makes the most of its guest stars. Particular standouts are Martin Landau
as an ex-mobster who, after thirty years in witness protection, decides to leave
the program to attend his son's funeral. Not only does he capture Joe's fear
over confronting his family as well as the people he testified against, but you
get an unexpected glimpse of the wily mobster he once was. Molly Maples shines
as Eleanor Prince; her running feud with Mary gets played for both laughs and
serious emotion, and Eleanor's presence improves the office dynamics
considerably. Richard Schiff has a twinkle in his eye in an amusing turn as a
manhunting rabbi, and David Denman (The Office) turns in a moving
performance in "Miles to Go."

Video is solid; the show has a lot of contrasting light schemes, lots of
shadows, and the video reproduces it well. Audio is also solid; particularly in
the WitSec office, the sound field has broad imaging, with characters speaking
from way off camera. The extras have been beefed up a bit from season one. You
still get some good deleted scenes from several episodes -- I still maintain
that they should do some extended episodes with the material. There's a good
commentary track with series creator David Maples and co-executive producer Paul
Stupin on "In My Humboldt Opinion"; the two bring a lot of good
background information to the table, and just seem to be having fun. The two
tracks with stars Mary McCormack and Frederick Weller are a bit disappointing,
though; they make some quick comments here and there, but they never really
discuss anything, and there's a lot of dead time.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

When Season One was brought before this court, we noted that the season
failed to effectively use Frederick Weller and Paul Ben-Victor. This season,
Ben-Victor gets his chances to shine and makes the most of them. Weller, though,
still needs a few moments in the spotlight. Most troubling is a suggestion that
Marshall is beginning to harbor romantic feelings for Mary; I cannot even begin
to express what a bad idea that would be. Not only is the best-friend chemistry
between the two characters pitch-perfect, but Mary's mental health (such as it
is) depends on being able to tell Marshall anything; that dynamic would be
destroyed by a romance (One word: Gizzie).

I'm torn about Josh Malina; the character is interesting enough, but Malina
himself just doesn't seem particularly different than he was as Will Bailey in
The West Wing.

The season finale is, for lack of a better word, off. The episode was
intended to be a two-part season finale, but USA decided to split the storyline
between Season Two and Season Three. There's certainly a compelling story there,
and it has some wonderful moments, particularly when Stan goes off on an
officious CIA agent, but the changes made to turn Part One into a season finale
completely hosed the episode's pacing.

Closing Statement

In Plain Sight: Season Two has a deft balance of police and family
drama that aspires to greatness; sadly, USA has decided to lower the bar
considerably. Due in part to the conflict over the season finale, series creator
David Maples and co-executive producer Paul Stupin have been pushed aside as
showrunners; in addition, the series has been retooled to place more focus on
Mary's cases and less on her family -- so much so that Jinx will be reduced to a
recurring character (which is simply wrong on so many levels). It's hard to view
the move as anything but stupid, particularly considering that they have
performed a similar retooling of Law and Order: Criminal Intent. The
rationale was that the two shows were "too dark"; the court can only
assume that retooled L&O show will be renamed Law and Order: Loitering
With Intent.

The retooling takes away the very thing that made the show so special. I'll
be watching, but I'll be nervous.

The Verdict

"Here's the part you should be really focusing on: Come trial time, this
case brings me ball-punching distance to you." -- Mary Shannon,
exercising her diplomatic skills with the New Mexico Attorney General.

Yeah, like I'm gonna rule her guilty.

If USA goes and screws this show up, however, they just may find themselves
in witness protection. Irony: It's what's for dinner.